Mom and Medical

Being in a country where hand washing the clothes and dishes, and cooking everything from scratch is the norm, has forced me to really appreciate and miss my mother. Being a single male, who growing up was absolutely spoiled by my mother (I’m not ashamed to admit it), I don’t cook much, I don’t clean well, and I definitely don’t wash clothes by hand. As a result, I’ve eaten out a whole lot, picked up a broom for the first time in my life, and hired a girl named Faith to come once a week and wash my clothes. On Mother’s Day weekend my mom was able to come and visit me in Uganda, and it was an experience that we’ll never forget. Something about mom being around just made me feel at home (maybe it was the biscuits and chocolate gravy she cooked me). Just being able to share what my life has been like for the last year with someone close to me was very meaningful. We had a great time together and I’m very thankful to her for coming, because I know it wasn’t easy for her. In Uganda in most cases, a mother and child relationship doesn’t look anything like that of one in the States. Yes they care for the children when they are young, but as the child gets older he goes off and doesn’t stay in close contact with the mother. The emotional aspect of the relationship, from what I’ve seen, is non-existent. After my mom left I had numerous people come up to me in amazement and jealousy of how close a relationship my mother and I have. They told me that they had never witnessed any relationship like ours. So not only am I thankful for all the things my mom did for me growing up, but I’m thankful for the close relationship that we have, and that she is someone I can consider a close friend!

While mom was visiting we also had a visiting medical team from North Carolina. The team consisted of three nurses, three doctors, and three others who ran the pharmacy. We held a medical clinic in our chapel and invited all the people from local villages to come for free health care and medication. Mom and I took vital signs, pricked fingers, and prepared malaria slides for the pathologist. In the four-day clinic we treated over 1000 patients. It was truly a work of the Lord. We saw broken bones, a lot of malaria, malnutrition, rashes, and everything else you can imagine. People walked for up to seven miles one way to reach our clinic, and in some cases it saved their lives. The most important part of the clinic was not the number of patients seen, or the amount of medication prescribed, but rather the opportunity we had to plant a seed in the lives of lost people. I’m not big on boasting a number of professions of faith made, but we were able to sit down with all 1000+ patients and explain the gospel to them, and invite them to church. God will do the rest!